Contraceptive Pills – Its Functioning

Contraception in today’s society is taken much more seriously than it was in earlier times. In order to avoid women from having unplanned pregnancy, most couples, until recently, used condoms as a means of contraception. The one major problem that women faced was that they had no control over their sex life. However, the scenario changed with the introduction of hormonal contraceptive methods into the market. The three hormonal contraceptive methods that have proven to be quite effective are oral contraceptive pills, contraceptive patch and contraceptive rings. Of these three methods, oral contraceptive pills have been proven to be the most popular method.

Although recent researches indicate that other methods, contraceptive patches and contraceptive rings are gaining popularity at a faster pace. The oral contraceptive pills have a greater preference rate as most women find it easier to swallow a pill in comparison to other methods. These pills consist of synthetic female hormones with the help of which they help in preventing women from pregnancy. A birth control pill is supposed to be taken on a daily basis and at the same time as the previous day. These pills can either be combination pills or mini-pills, based on the synthetic female hormones present in them.

A combination pill is that which consist, two synthetic female hormones, oestrogen and progestogen, as its active ingredients. These pills have been proven to be almost 100% effective protecting women against pregnancy. This birth control pill, with the help of these two hormones, can prevent pregnancy in three different ways. Firstly, a combination pill tricks your body into believing that ovulation has already occurred so as to prevent the production of an egg. Secondly, it prevents the entry of a sperm and fertilisation of an egg by thickening the cervical mucus in your womb. Lastly, a combination birth control pill alters the womb lining to prevent an egg, from attaching and growing further.

A mini-pill, on the other hand, is a pill that consists of only one synthetic female hormone, progestogen, as its active ingredient. As a result, this pill is often referred to as ‘the progestogen only pill’. These pills have been proven to be almost 99% effective in preventing unplanned pregnancy in women. Unlike a combination, the mini-pills prevent pregnancy in women in two different ways. Firstly this contraceptive pill thickens the cervical mucus and prevents a sperm from entering and fertilising an egg. And secondly, it alters the womb lining so that an egg, if produced and fertilised, cannot attach and grow further.

These birth control pills have been proven to be very effective in preventing women from getting pregnant. However, contraceptive accidents such as failure of a daily contraception can result into an unplanned pregnancy. Under such circumstances, you can take the help of emergency contraception. These pills, also known as morning after pills, can be taken approximately withi
72 to 120 hours afterwards. These pills consist of synthetic progestogen as its active ingredients. The two most popular emergency contraceptions used by women are Levonelle and ellaOne.